Conservation Tips

Water is a valuable resource in Arizona. Using our resources wisely will help us fill the needs of people, industries and businesses. Water conservation—using water efficiently and avoiding waste—is fundamental to ensuring water availability in the future. In order to protect our water supply everyone can practice conservation. In our businesses, schools, and homes, using water more efficiently will lessen the effects of limited water supply. Below are 25 things you can do to conserve water.

25 Thing You Can Do To Conserve Water

10 Things You Can Do to Save Water Outside

Water your lawn only when it needs it -
Watering on a regular schedule doesn't allow for cool spells or rainfall which reduce the need for watering. Step on a patch of grass, if it springs back when you move your foot, it doesn't need watering.

Deep-soak your lawn -
When you do water your lawn, water it long enough for the water to seep down to the roots where it is needed. A light sprinkling that sits on the surface will simply evaporate and be wasted.

Water during the cool parts of the day -
Early morning is better than dusk since it helps prevent the growth of fungus.

Don't water the gutter -
Position your sprinklers so the water lands on your lawn or garden. Also, avoid watering on windy days when much of the water may be carried off to the streets and sidewalks.

Plant drought resistant trees and plants -
Many beautiful trees and plants thrive without irrigation in the limited rainfall of our semiarid region.

Put a layer of mulch around trees and plants -
Mulch slows down the evaporation of moisture.

Use a broom to clean driveways, sidewalks and steps -
Using a hose will waste hundreds of gallons of water.

Don't run the hose while washing the car -
Soap down your car from a pail of soapy water. Use a hose only to rinse it off.

Teach your children to conserve -
Children love to play under a hose or sprinkler on a hot day. Unfortunately, this practice is extremely wasteful of precious water and should be discouraged.

Check for leaks in pipes, hoses, faucets and couplings -
Leaks outside the house are easier to ignore since they don't pose structural damage or keep you awake at night. However, they can be even more wasteful than inside leaks, especially when they occur on your main water line.

9 Things You Can Do to Save Water in the Bathroom

Check your toilet for leaks -
Put a few drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the color begins to appear in the bowl, you have a leak that may be wasting more than 100 gallons of water a day. It should be fixed as soon as possible.

Stop using your toilet for an ashtray or wastebasket -
Every cigarette butt or tissue you flush also flushes away 5 to 7 gallons of water.

Put a plastic bottle in your toilet tank -
Put an inch or two of sand or pebbles in the bottom of a quart bottle to weigh it down. Fill the rest with water and put in the bottom of your toilet tank, safely away from the operating mechanism. In the average home, the bottle may save 5 gallons or more of water a day without harming the efficiency of the toilet.

Take shorter showers -
A typical shower uses 5 to 10 gallons of water a minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down, and rinse off.

Install water saving shower heads or flow restrictors -
Your local hardware or plumbing supply store stocks inexpensive shower heads or flow restrictors that will cut your shower flow to about 3 gallons a minute instead of 5 or 10.

Take baths -
A partially filled tub uses less water than all but the shortest showers.

Turn off the water while brushing your teeth -
Before brushing, wet your brush and fill a glass for rinsing your mouth.

Turn the water off while shaving -
Fill the bottom of the sink with a few inches of warm water in which to rinse your razor.

Checks faucets and pipes for leaks -
Even a small drip can waste 50 or more gallons of water a day.

6 Things You Can Do to Save Water in the Kitchen and Laundry

Use your dishwasher only when full -
Every time you run your dishwasher you use about 25 gallons of water.

Use your washing machine only for full loads -
Your washing machine uses about 30 gallons of water per cycle.

Don't let the faucet run while cleaning vegetables -
Rinse your vegetables in a sink full of clean water.

Keep a bottle of drinking water in the refrigerator -
This stops the practice of running the faucet to cool the water for drinking.

If you wash dishes by hand, don't leave the water running for rinsing -
If you have two sinks fill one with rinse water. If you only have one then wash your dishes and place them in a dish rack until you are finished washing. Then rinse them using a small amount of water in the sink.

Check faucets and pipes for leaks -
Leaks waste water 24 hours a day 7 days a week.